July 23, 2017 7:49pm EDTJuly 14, 2017 9:04pm EDTFor many NFL players past and present, the Canadian Football League has been either a great first stop for a more promising pro career south of the border or a happy second home for those couldn't stick in the American version. (Getty Images)20 Most Notable NFL/CFL Crossovers

Paul Nisely

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Doug Flutie (BC Lions, Calgary Stampeders, Toronto Argonauts)

The Heisman winner from Boston College became a CFL legend as a six-time All-Star and three-time Grey Cup winner before he returned to the NFL to get Pro Bowls nods while with the Buffalo Bills. (Getty Images)

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QB Warren Moon (Edmonton Eskimos)

QB Warren Moon (Edmonton Eskimos)

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WR Chad Johnson (Montreal Alouettes)

The six-time NFL Pro Bowl wideout with the Bengals signed a two-year deal with the Alouettes at age 36 in 2014. (Getty Images)

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QB Joe Theismann (Toronto Argonauts)

Before Theismann went on to star for the Redskins and win a Super Bowl, he was an All-Star for two of his three seasons with the Argos. (Getty Images)

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RB Ricky Williams (Toronto Argonauts)

The one-time NFL rushing champion with the Dolphins and first-round draft pick of the Saints spent one transition season in the CFL before finishing his career with Miami and Baltimore down south. (Getty Images)

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DE Mark Gastineau (BC Lions)

After he was a five-time Pro Bowler racking up sacks for the Jets, Gastineau finished his pro football career playing for the CFL's Vancouver franchise. (Getty Images)

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WR Andre Rison (Toronto Argonauts)

Rison went to five Pro Bowls and played with seven teams in the NFL, including the Falcons, but the "Bad Moon" didn't go down until he played the 2004 and '05 seasons with the Argos. (Getty Images)

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DE Cameron Wake (BC Lions)

It didn't take long for the Penn State product to get noticed for his dominant play in the CFL, just two seasons. The Dolphins signed him in 2009, and he's given them five Pro Bowls and 81.5 career sacks and an absolute all-around stud off the edge. (Getty Images)

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QB Jeff Garcia (Calgary Stampeders)

After Garcia lit up in the CFL for four seasons, the 49ers saw him as the ideal backup for Steve Young in 1999. The one-time Grey Cup MVP's talents converted into four NFL Pro Bowl seasons as a West Coast-style passer. (Getty Images)

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Coach Marc Trestman (Montreal Alouettes, Toronto Argonauts)

The two-time Grey Cup-winning coach with the Montreal Alouettes got a chance to run the Chicago Bears for two seasons (2013, ’14) and took over the Toronto Argonauts for the 2017 season. (Getty Images)

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WR Joe Horn (Memphis Mad Dogs)

Horn starred for the Mad Dogs, an odd American CFL franchise, enough to get drafted by the Chiefs as a fifth-round pick in 1996. He would become a four-time Pro Bowl pick with his second NFL team, the Saints. (Getty Images)

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WR/KR Raghib Ismail (Toronto Argonauts)

Going to the CFL first, he rocketed to stardom with the Argos, winning a Grey Cup as game MVP as a rookie in 1991. In the NFL, the former Notre Dame superstar played for the Raiders, Panthers and Cowboys. (Getty Images)

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CB Brandon Browner (Calgary Stampeders)

Before joining the Legion of Boom with the Seahawks and then going to the Patriots and Saints, Browner played for one of the CFL's Alberta teams from 2007-'10. (Getty Images)

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RB Lawrence Phillips (Montreal Alouettes, Calgary Stampeders)

The troubled Rams first-round draft pick tried to find late-career pro football refuge on two CFL teams from 2002-'03, and did make one All-Star team before hanging it up. (Getty Images)

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QB Joe Kapp (Calgary Stampeders, BC Lions)

Kapp played in the CFL for two teams from 1959-'66 before finding some Pro Bowl success with the Vikings. (AP Photo)

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RB Robert Edwards (Montreal Alouettes, Toronto Argonauts)

The once-promising Patriots first-round pick did his best to salvage his football career in the CFL after having a major knee injury. He was an East All-Star with the Alouettes in 2005 and '06. (Getty Images)

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ILB Jerrell Freeman (Saskatchewan Roughriders)

Freeman, a small-school product, found his way back into the NFL by starring for the Roughriders from 2009 to '11. He's been a valuable member of the Colts' defense since '12. (Getty Images)

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WR Mervyn Fernandez (Toronto Argonauts)

One of the CFL’s top 50 players of the modern era, Mervyn Fernandez was a receiver for the Raiders from 1987 to 1992. (Getty Images)

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FB Mike Sellers (Edmonton Eskimos, Winnipeg Blue Bombers)

Sellers' two stints with the Redskins as a versatile one-time Pro Bowl H-back both came after he spent time in the CFL. He was an Eskimo from 1995 to '97 and a Blue Bomber from '02 to '03. (Getty Images)

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K Mike Vanderjagt (Saskatchewan Roughriders, Toronto Argonauts)

Before the native Ontarian made a Pro Bowl with the Colts and then raised the ire of Peyton Manning, he stayed at home to prove he had a booming, accurate leg in the NFL. He ended up playing for the Argos twice, from 1996 to ’97 and then again to end his pro football career in '08. (Getty Images)